Amidst Consistent Global Economic Growth, Questions Remain

For all the political turmoil at home and in places like Germany, the UK, Zimbabwe, and the Middle East, the economic news - at many levels - has been generally positive in 2017. Economies, in both developed and developing countries, have expanded in the past 11 months.

According to Bill Adams, economist specializing in non-U.S. economies for PNC Bank, the United States, Euro Zone and Japan are growing over trend in 2017. This is a result of increased stability over the past eight years along with "unconventional economic policies" from central banks, he says. These unconventional policies include quantitative easing, negative interest rates, improved customer and business spending, and hiring and wage growth.

"One of the first questions we have is that, will the global expansion be a victim of its own success?" Adams wonders.

He was in Milwaukee recently, and joined Lake Effect's Mitch Teich in the studio to address the economic questions that he sees amidst the success:

One of the buzzwords, when it comes to the economy, is “uncertainty.” Politicians blame slow economic growth on uncertainty over future tax rates or incoming revenue. Businesses decide to hold off on hiring because of uncertainty.

All of that leads to a lot of uncertainty for people in middle and lower classes of wage earners - uncertainty over paying the rent, buying food, affording college.

The work of the United Nations is honored at this time each year with United Nations week. Despite a speech by President Donald Trump to the UN General Assembly last month, the place of the United States in the global political sphere is tenuous. Foreign aid and the State Department have been in the cross-hairs when it comes to cuts to the federal budget.

There was a lot promised to the residents of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 2013. China-based tech company Foxconn "sent a jolt through the state capital" when it's CEO announced that a $30 million facility would be built to bring tech jobs to the area. The plans never materialized.

So what does this have to do with southeastern Wisconsin?

This month, in a visit to Waukesha County Technical College, President Donald Trump alluded to potential negotiations that could lead to a tech plant in Wisconsin run by the very same company.

Milwaukee Public Media is a service of UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters & Science